Trained at the Pasadens Playhouse School of the theater in California, Vernon Chambers directed plays and was radio broadcaster. He later became Program Director at KCOH radio station. Originator of the Distributive Education program, Chambers...

Mr. Bobby Caldwell discusses his work as a lawyer in several civil rights cases, his work relationship with the Black Panther Party and the People's Party, and several life defining moments such as winning his first case, his first trial, and the...

John Biggers, a renown artist and professor at Texas Southern University, shares the highlights of his career. He established the art department at TSU and was one of the first African American artists to visit Africa.

Bill Lawson, a political activist and civil rights organizer examines his life as a religious leader, and his participation in racial desegregation efforts in the Houston communities during the Civil Rights Movement.

Gene Locke discusses issues about race relations in Houston during the 1960s and 1970s. He describes the transformation of the University of Houston, and his involvement in civil rights and politics in the city of Houston. Gene Locke served as...

Mayor Bill White Collection;Houston Oral History Project : a great city voices its past.

Tatcho Mindiola, director of the Mexican American Studies program at the University of Houston, describes race relations in Houston in the 1950s and 1960s, and talks about his career as a community activist.

Attorneys at Law, Partner, 1960-61; Assistant Criminal District Attorney, 1961-61, U.S. Attorney, Harris County Judge.Served on the Constitutional Revision Commission for the State of Texas, and as Vice-Chairman of the Committee on the judiciary.

Richard L. Card was the principal of Edison Junior High School when it opened in 1925. At the time this school was part of the Harrisburg School District, which shortly merged with the Houston Independent School District once Harrisburg became part...

The Black Art Center was established in Fifth Ward as a venue for the African American community of Houston “to express whatever kind of artistic talents they might have.” The organization received grant money from the Menil Foundation, among...

Businessmen Welcome Wilson has served as Assistant Director of Civil Defense for the city of Houston; assistant to former Mayor Roy Hofheinz; State Director for the Defense Mobilization headquarters in Denton, Texas; and real estate and financial...

Conrad Johnson talks with David Goldstein about his career as a musician and music educator in Houston.
Conrad was a proficient jazz musician. His high school orchestra at Kashmere High School where he taught for many years won numerous awards. He...

James V. Garrett, originally from Atlanta, Texas, was an assistant district attorney and prosecutor in Houston, Harris County, Texas. Garrett shares his experiences in law school, his reflections on his time in the District Attorney's office, and...

Not a native Houstonian, Mrs. William W. Bland came to Houston when she was 20 years old. She loved music and the opera. The Houston Grand Opera and the Opera Guild was founded in 1955, and she was asked to head the Guild. Very active in...

Dr. Jones talks about growing up in Hot Springs, Arkansas as a poor but ambitious girl, the events that shaped her life, her years in medical school, her career as a physician in Houston, and her life as a civil rights activist.

Eleanor Tinsley talks about her years as president of the board of the Houston Independent School District, and as member of the city council.
She was involved in the school integration movement and was instrumental in the creation of the Houston...

Luis Cano was born in Corpus Christi and was inspired by his grandfather, Juan Bautista Galaviz, who worked to educate the Mexican American community of Del Rio, Texas, about their history and heritage. In the 1970s, Cano came to Houston and taught...